Spring Springs Eternal In A Batting Cage

February 22, 1985|By Joseph Knowles.

The hitter steps into the box and taps his bat on the plate, taking one level practice half-swing before the pitch arrives. A hushed crowd watches as the delivery comes in belt-high, a blur, followed by the sharp report of bat on ball. It`s well hit, it might be, it could be. . .

Is it?

``I think so,`` says the hitter. ``Definitely. It would have been in the right-field bleachers.``

The next pitch is outside and the hitter has to lunge just to make contact. The result is a sharp ground ball to the left side.

``Double-play ball,`` says his friend. ``Tailor-made.``

``I would`ve hustled down and beat it out,`` the hitter answers.

Spring still is weeks away, but there is no off-season for baseball nuts. While the pros work out the kinks in Florida and Arizona taking swings against spaghetti-armed coaches and wild rookies, the amateurs take their cuts locally against ``Iron Mike``--the baseball nickname for the mechanical pitching machine.

``I`m just trying to get my eye back,`` said Dave McPhee, the hitter, a Northwest Side softball player who goes to Fun City Recreation Center`s indoor batting cages in Addison. While some things, like riding a bike, come back easily after a winter`s hibernation, the long stretch between fall and spring can make your bat feel like petrified wood and turn the baseball into a UFO.

McPhee mostly played hardball before joining a 16-inch team. ``It`s an adjustment, mainly in the timing,`` he said. ``This might throw me off for softball, but I`ll worry about that later. I just needed to swing a bat.``

The pitching machine can be inconsistent, but an observant hitter studies its delivery from the on-deck circle. Just as with real pitchers, some throws will jam you on the hands, while others sail low and away. While the machine cannot throw a curve or change-up per se, the natural effects of velocity and resistance cause pitches to dip and tail off. Balls are rubber-coated and some have dimples like golf balls. Bats are provided, but they usually are aluminum (hence, unbreakable). Purists bring their own lumber. To those in tune with the sport, no sound is sweeter than wooden bat on horsehide ball.

Standing behind the protection of the wire fence, an onlooker gets a rare view of what hall-of-famer Ted Williams called ``the single most difficult feat in all of sports``--hitting a baseball propelled at 80 to 90 m.p.h. The late Charley Lau, former hitting coach for the White Sox, likened the perfect baseball swing to a golf swing, but the big difference is that in golf, the ball is stationary.

At the Grand Slam batting cages in Palatine, machines are adjustable to speeds in the neighborhood of 100 m.p.h.--that`s a neighborhood where the Nolan Ryans, Dwight Goodens and Goose Gossages hang out--and where most hitters fear to tread. For softballers, Grand Slam has a Ponza Hummer machine that delivers 12-inchers, slow and fast, but no machine yet has been devised to pitch 16-inch softballs.

Why not? Well, let`s just say that if you`re having trouble making contact with a ball that big, you`d better restrict your swinging to the singles bars.

Grand Slam is part of a national chain of baseball practice facilities, and the Palatine franchise offers individual and group hitting, fielding and pitching instruction. Prospective phenoms can watch their swings on videotape, and even get personalized lessons from former Cub and White Sox third baseman Eric Soderholm, White Sox pitching instructor Larry Monroe or Mike Young, who coached pro leagues in Holland and Australia. Many pro players who live in the area come to Grand Slam to start getting in shape before spring training.

But the cages aren`t really for the big boys. They`re for everyone: the high-schooler tagged ``good glove, no-hit`` trying to win a scholarship or impress a scout, or the weekend hacker just looking to make a splash in the beer league. Here are a couple places where you can take your licks: